SUPREME COURT

Evening Star, Issue 20778, 28 April 1931, Page 12

SUPREME COURT

QUARTERLY CRIMINAL SESSIONS The quarterly criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were continued tins morning, before His Honour Mr Justice • Kennedy. GUILTY OF INDECENT ASSAULT. The case in which . William Arthur Hamilton was charged with committing an unnatural offence on a boy, 01, altentatively, with indecently assaulting a male, was continued, yesterday afternoon. Evidence was given by the-boy concerned, his parents, Detective Gibson, and Detective-sergeant Nuttall. Mr White did not call evidence for the defence. After Mr White had addressed the iury and His Honour had summed up, the jury retired at 5.27, and returned at 6 p.m., with a verdict of guilty on the charge of indecently assaulting a The prisoner was remanded until Thursday morning for sentence. SERIOUS CHARGES, This morning Eric Bain was placed on trial on charges of, on or about the month of November last, committing an indecent act; of, on March 14, indecently exposing himself with intern, to insult or offend; of, on March 24, committing an indecent act in a public place; and of, on March 24, wilfully and obscenely exposing himself in a public place. Mr C. J. L. White appeared for the prisoner, who pleaded not guilty to all charges. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr F. B. Adams) detailed the alleged offences, and said that the defence to tho charge of March 14 was an alibi. In res.pect to the charges on March 24, the accused was chased and caught in a motor garage, so that an alibi could not be suggested in tho case of those two charges. Evidence was called in support of tho Crown case.

Detective Taylor said that when brought to the police station, accused gave his name as George Hanson and bis address as 355 King Edward stieet. Witness found that that was the address of the South Dunedin Town Hall, and told accused ho could hardly live there. Accused then gave an address in Castle street, but later admitted his name was Eric Bain and said ho lived in Clarendon street.

Mr White intimated that he would call evidence for the defence.

In evidence the accused denied that ho had been in Bath street, where one of the offences was alleged to have been committed, and stated that on March 14, the date of a further alleged oifence,

ho was at Portohollo. He admitted that he went into the right-of-way a* the rear of the Gridiron Hotel on March 24, but said it was because of a weakness. He admitted that he ran into th« garage when chased. He gsive a wrong name to the police on the spur of the moment. The case was proceeding at the luncheon adjournment.